Days 16-19 (9/25-28)

 Friday - 9/25

Had breakfast at the Holiday Inn with Connie, Kendra, Tim and Jim.  Everyone discussing their plans for the day and more visiting and sharing stories. 

Stayed around visiting until it was actually time to leave for lunch, so I am well fed for today.  Found the Rumba Bar & Grill and recognized that I had eaten there before with James and Dale.  Pete pulled in right behind me so he made good time driving down from Auburndale. 

 

James, Dale and Natalee were right on time, so we had a fabulous visit and yummy lunch.  When we were done Dale took off for errands, Pete headed back to Auburndale and James, Natalee and I headed to the Bay Pines Veterans Cemetery to have a quick visit with Mom and Dad.  I always work in this visit whenever I’m in town and this was nice to have James and Natalee along. 

I followed them down from Clearwater and then when we got to the VA campus, I took the lead because I was supposed to know where I was going. 

Just like everything else in Florida, the campus has grown tremendously.  So, just when I thought I knew where I was going, I realized I was driving the wrong way on a one-way road.  And who was the first car that stopped right in front of me, of course a cop with lights blazing.  Fortunately, he was very nice and got me pointed in the right direction.  Then I made a wrong turn (that campus has really grown) and we had to go all the way around again.  Finally made it to the right spot and took a few minutes to visit about Mom and Dad.

Came back to my lovely little beach cabin and laid low.  Need to get some energy for the Reunion party tonight.  Will see how that goes.

Made it to the party around 6:45 and the place was already packed.    Just an outdoor deck on the harbor side.  Got a drink, ordered some food, visited with a bunch of different folks.  By 9 pm, I was back at my beach house, tucked in bed, fell asleep rather quidkly….not the usual.

 

Saturday - 9/26

Saturday morning woke up about 3:30am and of course could not get back to sleep.  Tossed and turned, scrolled through my phone a bit, finally gave up at 6:30, got dressed and went to McDonalds for a quick breakfast.

Then decided to do my usual Pinellas Park tour.  Any time I’m in the area I drive by our two homes in Pinellas Park, the lot where the store used to be and Twin Oaks trailer park where Mom and Dad lived in their final days.

What is amazing is how much things have changed.  Especially the first house that we moved into in 1957.  In 1957 the lot across the road from us was a dairy farm filled with cows.  Sue Marshall, my first friend in Florida, lived 2 doors down the road, her parents grew a nursery.  The side road that ran along side our house was a dead end.

All that is changed.  Our old house has a very ugly wood fence around it so you can’t see the property at all.  The dairy farm is gone and it is all housing and an elementary school.  The side road goes back to a riding stable.  Sue Marshall’s home is gone and is now a new home.  Even the road system is radically changed.  I had a hard time just finding my way there.  Oh w/ell, we all know everything keeps changing…..I shouldn’t be surprised.  Tonight is the final party for the weekend, so I’m gonna lay low until time for that and then head home tomorrow, bright and early.

Saturday night was the final BIG party of the weekend.  It was fun!  Tim, Jim, Kendra and I went to PJ’s for dinner….a yummy fish place right around the corner from the hotel. Then found the party.  The crowd gathered, the music started and that got the ball rolling.  Got lots of visiting in, there was a group photo….see below, and I  was home in bed by 9PM.  This aging thing is a bitch.

 

(This is not the real setting, our photographer, had fun playing with different backgrounds and I like this one the best. 

Sunday - 9/27

Once again, I was up at the crack of dawn, ready to hit the road.  I pretty much had the car packed.  Found the closest McDonalds and then was on my way.

GPS said it was a 10-hour drive to Katie’s in Cleveland, TN, and it was just a little more than that because getting through Atlanta, even on a Sunday, is a horror story!!  What am I gonna do?  I now hate flying due to my Maine trip in July, and driving 10 hours straight has soured me on long drives.  Maybe find a cave and hide???

 

Monday - 9/28

Again, up well before the sun.  Heard Katie walking around upstairs, so got up, grabbed my stuff and again, found the closest McDonald’s.  I was home by 1:30….after a long delay getting through Knoxville and stopping for lunch at my favorite restaurant just a few miles from our house.

I am sooooo glad to be home. 

I was gone a total of 19 days….and Pete still has 2 weeks to go housesitting in Auburndale.  I’ll be very glad to see him when he gets home.

 

 

Days 13 – 15 (9/22-24)

Day 13

Tues was pretty quiet.  Pete needed to mail a birthday card, so for the first time we found our way into downtown Auburndale .  Very small little town, but quite cute.  Tried to find a non-existent Publix but did find a Winn-Dixie.  Been a long time since I saw one of those. 

Headed home, it was another day with the dogs and the pool.

 

Day 14

Started packing up.  Tomorrow, I drive down to Indian Rocks Beach for my 60^th high school reunion.  We drove two cars down here so I could head south and Pete stays with the dogs.  My car is packed with suitcases, this computer, golf clubs, etc.  Can’t wait for it. 

 

Day 15

All packed and ready to go.  I planned to leave at 9am, but got antsy so left around 8:30, got me there plenty early.  

Since our 40^th reunion we always start the 4-day event with a golf outing.  Since I was so early, I decided to find the golf course first.  The East Bay Golf Club in Largo looks nice.  Can’t help thinking about the sun and how hot it will be, but will deal with that later.

Then went and found my Airbnb for the stay.  Found it.  Looks just like the photos.  Can’t check in until 4pm, so then I went looking for the Holiday Inn where the reunion is being held.  Found it, looks nice. 

By this time, I could head back to the golf course.  Found the guys in the bar (of course) and we did all the usual ‘welcoming events’…..drinking, catching up with the gang, taking a tequila toast, going over the rules, you know, the usual stuff. 

When this outing was originally started, back during our 40^th reunion, it was a much bigger group.  We did shotgun starts, can’t remember how many golfers, but it was a big event.  This year we had 3 foursomes.  Only 2 women, me and Lynn Lathrop, and thankfully it was a best ball event which moved along much faster.  The heat was tolerable only because for most of the outing there was a very nice breeze. 

When it was all said and done, I won $1 for being the most entertaining holder of the flag, and $10 for longest drive.  There were 10 male golfers, some of whom I know are excellent golfers.  However, it seems they can’t keep their long drives in the fairway, which is a requirement for this award.  So, there it was, me.  It bought me a drink. 

Made it to my beach cabin, took a much-needed shower, then back to the Holiday Inn for Happy Hour.  It was a very happy time.  Found Kendra Boggess, Connie Valimont, Tim Wiley and Jim Williams and continued our reunion tradition of dinner together where we catch up.

Ended the evening in room 245 watching an hour of very old photos from elementary through 55^th reunion.  A very nice way to end the day.

DAYS 10-12 (9/19-21)

Day 10

Our second day in the pool with the dogs…pretty much the same as the first day.  They both love that pool so much, as the second you take off their collars, they are rarin’ to go.  Once again, I wore out before they did.

Day 11

We haven’t been very active.  Pete does take Daisy out for walks around the neighborhood.  They are very quick walks, but Pete explains that Daisy is a very fast walker.  Other than that we watched the Bengals win their game and the Reds…..not so much!!!!

Day 12

So, the master bedroom we are sleeping in has a full-size sliding glass door that opens out to the pool deck.  Daisy and Kaylee have doggie doors that let them out to the pool deck and then out to the yard so that have free access to do their business as needed. 

This AM, as I got out of bed I go to open the blinds on the sliding glass door, and there sits Daisy, looking in at me and whining.  I just started laughing.  Everywhere I go, she is there….waiting and whining.

Had lunch with my friend Rik McNeill, the person I call my brother by another mother.  I met Rik in 8^th grade when his family moved to Pinellas Park and he started at Pinellas Park Jr High.  His family also began attending the same church we attended. 

We’ve had so many adventures together.  I visited him at Auburn University when he started college there.  Then I visited him at the second university (can’t remember the name, but it was in NY state.)

Our most famous adventure was when he was working a summer in northern Ohio at a church where our former pastor was now the pastor.  He met me at the interstate intersection where I needed to get off.  I was supposed to follow him to Rev. Ross’s home.  He took off like a bullet and I had to keep up or get lost (this was long before cell phones and Google Maps).  We both got pulled over by a cop for speeding and because he was out of state and I was out of county we were taken to the police station.  Neither of us had the money to pay a fine immediately, so in order to get released we had to call Rev. Ross (how awful) and he came down and bailed us out.

The next day being Sunday we had to sit in the front pew of the church as Rev. Ross told our story to his congregation.  I wanted so badly to find a hole to drown in. 

Anyway, we’ve been dear friends for many years and our visit on Monday was great.  He lives in Gainesville and was on his way to St. Pete to visit grandchildren and then head out the next morning from Tampa Airport for NYC.  It was so good to see him.

DAYS 6-9 (9/15-18)

Day 6

Tuesday, as mentioned before, we took Jan and Tom to the Tampa Airport.  That was quick and easy, except for my observations.  Boy, has that airport grown over the years. 

The first time I flew into that airport I was probably 9 years old, but once I moved back to Ohio in 1968, I was either driving or flying to Florida on a regular basis, and on this visit, I was completely surprised by how much it has grown.  I shared one funny story with everyone as we approached the airport. 

There was one trip where I flew down for a visit and as we made our final approach I heard the 3 senior ladies in the seats behind me being totally flabbergasted by the amount of rain that was on the ground.  They were looking at Tampa Bay!!!  I started laughing and turned around and let them know it was the Bay.   I’m not sure they believed me.

We dropped Jan and Tom off for their trip, and made our way home….nothing exciting for the rest of the day.

 

Day 7

Our first excursion into the pool with the dogs.  Boy, are these 2 girls ever serious water dogs.  Even, Kaylee, the 13 year-old,,,didn’t jump in, but stepped in and really didn’t want to get out when the time came.  Daisy, the 5-year-old, wanted to play rough the whole time.  She has a plastic float toy that gets thrown into the water and she dive bombs her approach.  Brings the toy right back to me and off we go again.  I wore out before she did.  

 You know, when you’re on a trip like this it’s easy to get your days mixed up.  That night after dinner we started looking for the Buffalo Bills/Detroit Lions football game on the TV.  As I mentioned before, the TV system is an evil system that Peter hasn’t even attempted to figure out, so it was me looking for the game.  I kept finding listings for it, but the info didn’t make any sense.  Finally, we figured out that the Thursday night games typically don’t air on Wednesday nights.  Problem solved!!!!

 

Day 8

Thursday we drove into Lakeland and found Hollis Gardens where we met Renee and Ron, Pete’s cousins, for lunch.  We had a lovely visit with them and caught up on all the latest news. 

While driving the next day we saw a Hollis Cancer Center so I looked the name up on Google to see who it was.  Mark Hollis was the president of Publix Super Markets who died from pancreatic cancer.  Good to know.

Made it home and did find the Bills game on the TV so got to see them win their first game in their new stadium.  Gorgeous stadium but interesting to know that it is only 60,000 seats compared to the former stadium of 70,000 seats.  Not sure why they would make it smaller.

 

Day 9

THE GOOD NEWS…..I FOUND MY LOST KEY FOB!!!!  Not sure how it ended up in Pete’s truck in the door pocket, but there it was.  So glad I didn’t order a new one on Amazon, was waiting to get home. 

Found the lost key fob when we headed out to the Florida Air Museum in Pete’s truck.  Nothing at all like the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, but a nice way to spend some time out of the house.

 

 Pete and I have come up with a plan to every other day find someplace to go outside the house and on the stay home days, play with the dogs in the pool.  Sounds like fun to me!!!!

DAY 4 & 5 (9/13 & 14)

Day 4.

Day was kind of a quiet day.  It was a day of settling in.  Learning the ropes of the house and dogs.  And trying to figure out where things like the grocery store, gas station, etc. is.  Also, they have an extraordinarily complex TV system that I attempted to learn, but grew very, very frustrated by.  Nothing simple about it.  Once they are in the air I will sit down on my own and see if I can figure it out.

Today we went to Chili’s for lunch.  Their neighbor and daughter joined us and we had a lovely meal.

The one really yucky thing that has happened is that I have lost my back-up car fob.  Pete insisted that we both bring our extra keys.  I don’t know why, I never do that.  But of course, since I did bring my back-up, I lost it.  It had to have fallen out of my purse.  Have no idea where it could be.  And I’m pissed cause I know they cost a fortune to replace!!!!

Sunday evening we watched the Bengals/Buccs game…..yeah, the Bengals won!!!

 

Day 5

Today was pretty much the same.  I pulled out my computer and got some work done.  Pete and I went to Publix and picked up a couple of things, although they do have 2 refrigerators and 3 freezers packed full of food, so we should be in good shape as far as eating goes.

We took Jan and Tom out to Texas Roadhouse for a celebratory farewell dinner.  We take them to the Tampa airport early tomorrow  for their flight to Rome. 

Then we will be on our own.  Wish us luck!!!!

 

DAY 2 & 3

Day 2

Day 2 of our drive to Florida began with breakfast at our Hampton Inn and then on the road again.  We were just north of Atlanta as we hit the road so we delayed departure until after the morning rush hour. 

Of course, that didn’t help much.  Driving through Atlanta, no matter the day or time, is always a nightmare.  Last June I was attending a wedding in Bellingham and drove from the Seattle airport north to Bellingham.  I blogged about that experience being exactly like driving through Atlanta.  And this time, I was reminded of how awful it is.  The only thing positive you can say about the experience is that at least the Atlanta By-pass routes all the semis around Atlanta and you don’t have to deal with them.  But still, shear volume of cars is just over-whelming.  And this trip, for the first time in years, I was actually driving. 

Then, just south of Atlanta we started running into the scattered storms that was forecasted.  Not much lightening or thunder, but the rain cam down in buckets.  At one point my cruise control stopped working and the error message said the sensor was blocked.  Finally, after the rain stopped the sensor must have dried up and it started working again. 

So, we made it to Molly’s house and after 7 hours, I was soooo glad to be out of the car.  Thank God it has excellent air conditioning because I stepped out of the car at Molly’s and was blasted by the heat and humidity.  How do people live in Florida….seriously???

                                                         Duke

 Molly has two dogs, Duke is the young German Shepard, who was super, super energetic, but a little sweetheart just the same.    

We ended the day with a yummy dinner at the Fish Camp restaurant and a nice visit with Molly.  The next morning, we were on the road by Noon and only had little more than an hour drive to Jan and Tom’s.  I was so happy it was not another 7- hour day.

 

DAY 3

Jan was waiting for us in her drive way when we came through the gates.  Again, the heat and humidity almost knocked me off my feet as I got out of the car, but we were where we’re gonna be for the next month.  Time to unload the car and relax. 

I’m so glad we were off the road, because again that day the storms started rolling through.  In this case major rainfall and strong thunder and lightning. 

Their dogs, Keylie and Daisy, really don’t like the storms, so we tried to calm them down.  But the storms were really powerful, so they were not happy campers at all. 

 

Daisy 

The day was spent just catching up with Jan and Tom.  Lovely dinner, watching the OSU game, ending the day in a comfy bed.  Nite, nite.

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Currently I’m sitting in a Hampton Inn in Cartersville, GA, on my way to Auburndale, Fl. to house sit Pete’s sister’s house for a month.  They are headed to Europe for a 3 week tour and we’re dog sitting their 2 labs.

We had to drive two cars down cause I’m leaving for Indian Rocks Beach later in the month for my 60^th high school reunion which should be a lot of fun.  And then I need to head right home for OLLI classes that start a week earlier.    

So, its been a while since I drove down to Florida from our home in Goshen, Ohio.  I’ve made the trip many times over the past several years, but typically Pete does all the driving while I spend the days reading a book. 

This time, since I had to drive my car, I wasn’t really looking forward to the drive, but I buckled in and off we went.  All was well for a while, until we hit rain showers just south of Cincinnati.  It rained, not stormed, all the way to southern Kentucky.  That was a little stressful since the roads were packed.

But once the rain broke, I relaxed and started thinking about all the times I’ve made this drive.  I remember the first time we made the trip for our move to Florida in 1957.  I-75 wasn’t even completed until 1977. 

That means, when I moved back to Ohio in June 1968 that I didn’t make the drive all the way up I-75.  I don’t remember that.  I remember I drove my new 1968 VW Bug was packed with everything I owned…..clothes, books, a sewing machine, golf clubs, etc, etc. 

Driving today I started thinking about this history.  Kind of wished I kept journals recording all those trips.  Early on I drove home to Florida at least once a year, sometimes more often. 

Of course, once I moved to Alaska and then Guam, that was 3* years when I didn’t make the drive at all.  But in June 1976, when I returned to Cincinnati from Guam, the practice started up again. 

I actually love the drive.  I-75 makes the trip very easy and driving through Kentucky and Tennessee is really beautiful.  There is so much history there, I can get lost in thought as I drive along.

This trip will be the longest ever.  From here we travel down to Leesburg, Fl to spend a day with Molly, Pete’s sister, then from there to Auburndale to Jan and Tom’s.

This will be the first installment.  I’ll keep posting as the days fly by.

See ya later.